The Times When I Still Loved You
by SoulEaterSushiBomb
Summary: A series of oneshots depicting moments between Spirit and Kami back in their time at that academy. "She could tell already what kind of guy HE was going to be..."
1. The First Meeting

An ashy-blonde haired girl with emerald eyes made her way up the steps of the academy she had been waiting to go to for years. She was feeling confident; no worries whatsoever. She wondered who she'd end up getting partnered with. What would he or she be like? What kind of friends would she make? She sighed and smiled at the top of the stairs, but her peace was interrupted soon enough.

"Don't touch me! Dirty senior boy!" a voice cried.

Before the ashy-blonde knew it a boy was flying through the sky with blood gushing from his nose…WOW whoever hit that guy must have been tough. Now she HAD to know who it was. The blonde made her way over to where the boy flew from and when she arrived she saw a girl about her age with golden hair and a caramel eye huffing with some residual frustration.

"Excuse me…" the emerald eyed girl said, making the other girl jump. "Were you the one who punched that boy?"

The caramel eyed girl laughed and rubbed the back of her head "Yeah, I guess I got a little carried away! Oh, are you new too?"

"Yes, I'm new."

"Great! My name is Marie! Marie Mjolnir!" the caramel eyed girl said brightly. "What's yours?"

"I'm Kami." The ashy-blonde replied.

"It's nice to meet you Kami! Do you want to walk to class together?" Marie asked kindly.

"Sure." Kami said. She was happy to find that there was at least one nice person at this school already.

"Now let's see…where's that room…? This way!" Marie said pointing down a hall.

"You sure? I'm pretty sure or homeroom, Class Crescent Moon, is that way." Kami said, pointing in the opposite direction.

After losing their way multiple times, they finally arrived at the proper class.

"Well, here we are." Marie said cheerfully.

Kami's eyebrow twitched a bit from the annoyance of having gotten lost for so long but when Marie turned and smiled at her she couldn't stay angry…Marie seemed like such a nice girl.

"So Marie, what sort of weapon are you?" Kami asked curiously, noting the badge on Marie's shirt.

….?

Marie wasn't answering; her gaze was fixated at the top row of seats in the room, in the farthest corner. Looking over in the same direction, Kami noticed a rather lonesome looking boy. He had pale skin, slivery-grey hair, and olive green eyes. His expression was rather uninterested and he was paging through some sort of catalog.

"Um…Marie?" Kami asked again.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Marie hurriedly apologized, realizing she was neglecting Kami.

Kami sweatdropped a bit at Marie's slowness but soon smiled again.

"Um…Kami? If it's ok with you, I think I'm going to go talk to that boy." Marie said with a small smile. "You can come too if you want."

"No thanks." Kami said, thinking it best that Marie spend the time one on one with that boy. "I'm going to look around a bit and maybe talk to some people. Just get acquainted with the class. That boy seems to be a pretty solitary guy, so I think it would be best if you two chatted alone."

Marie giggled, turned around, and made her way to the top row to enthusiastically greet the silver haired boy. Kami smiled at the scene but was soon distracted by the sound of numerous giggling girls. Looking over she scoffed in disgust at the sight.

A boy about her age with crimson hair was in a circle of girls, joking and flirting. Ugh, it was one of THOSE boys. Of course all the girls surrounding him were lovely and developing well for their age…ugh she hated dipsticks like that. What was so special about him? How did girls managed to fall for that crap?

Sighing, Kami took a seat in a row near the middle of the classroom and opened up a book. She loved reading.

"Hey, what's up?" a casual male voice said suddenly.

Kami looked up, thinking that she would be greeted with the face of a possible new friend…ugh NO.

Her eyes flattened and she almost gagged. It was THAT BOY.

"Hey." Was all she said before looking back down at her book.

"Is it your first day? It's time too." The redhead said. Kami grumbled in irritation. "Do you know anyone here yet?"

….no answer.

The teal eyed man chuckled a bit and snatched the book from Kami's hands.

"Hey!" she shouted with anger. "what was that for?"

The boy only laughed in response.

"Ugh, can I have my book back?" she asked in an agitated voice.

"Alright, I'll give it back…IF you tell me your name, where you're from, and what your favorite kind of candy is." The boy said smirking.

What the hell kind of guy was this? Was this whole deal some kind of big ass joke to him?

"Fine. My name is Kami, I'm from Japan, and my favorite kind of candy is just a really nice chocolate bar." She said narrowing her eyes. "Now can you give me my book back?"

Smiling at her, the boy offered her the book back, which she snatched rather quickly.

"It was nice meeting you Kami. I'm Spirit Albarn. I hope we get to hang out and talk again sometime." Spirit said winking. Kami growled. "I'd stay and chat longer but I have to get back over to my meister." He said, pointing to the top row. Ah…the silver-haired boy…so that was his meister… "Heh, well well, looks like he's got a fangirl!"

Geez! What was with this guy? Did he take a damn thing seriously? Nothing but a flirt. She could tell ALREADY that, that was all this bastard thought about…douche. Friends with him? Yeaaaah sure. All that would do was slow down her studies. She was here to learn and do her best!

"Well, see you around Kami." He said, patting her shoulder and winking.

Oh…that jerk…

"Hey wait a second Albarn." She said with a grin.

He turned around with a delighted grin. "Yesss?" he asked hopefully.

"Come a little closer." She said still cheerfully. NOW Spirit was thrilled.

He leaned in rather closely to her face.

…

"Kaaaaamiiii CHOP!" she shouted, smashing her book into the top of his head, leaving a book shaped dent in it.

He fell to the ground for a moment, groaning in pain. Kami growled and the rest of the class laughed hysterically at the sight. "That's for messing around!" Kami said.

Spirit finally stood to his feet shakily and looked ill for a moment before looking at her again with a smile, and then, much to Kami's irritation, Spirit burst into laughter. "Man, you really got me! You're a feisty one!" he said before walking off.

Kami sat there seething. "Grrrr…..I'll kill him!" she growled underneath her breath.

That Spirit Albarn…what an idiot…and yet…

_There seemed to be something in those teal eyes…something more than how he acted on the outside…_

(A/N: Yahoo! First chapter! :D I love Spirit; he's a great character and incredibly fun to write! More chapters coming soon! :D )


	2. Trust and Chocolate

Kami couldn't believe it; she had only been in the academy for a month now and she was already injured! She had been training and fell off a cliff onto a sharp rock…how stupid. She felt like her first injury should have been something cool like from a battle with a kishin or something; not this! So now here she was, in the academy's infirmary lying in bed with a huge gash in her side…this was the epitome of what sucks…

God she felt like such a royal dumbass! She should be better than this! She was top of her class for crying out loud! Ugh…she wondered if people were making fun of her outside right about now…probably, and she could hardly blame them if they were. Ouch…this really hurt…

"Hey Kami!" a cheerful voice called; it was all too familiar.

"Hey Marie." Kami said, attempting a smile despite her discomfort.

"I was really worried when I heard you got hurt. How are you feeling? Is there anything I can do for you?" Marie said all at once.

Kami couldn't help but feel better already. Marie was such a caring person; so naturally nurturing. She was a gentle and kind girl who wanted to make friends with everyone; she had been her first friend. Not only was Marie kindhearted though; she was kickass! Something that Kami admired very much. It sure hadn't taken long to discover what sort of weapon Marie was, due to her fiery temper.

"I'm fine Marie." Kami assured her. "I can't think of anything in particular I want you to do…unless you want to get me a glass of water; that would be nice."

"I'll get it right away!" Marie said with a bright smile. Wow…was that girl ever down?

After a few moments of scrambling around, Marie brought Kami the requested glass of water. "Here you are. Oh I almost forgot! Do you need any ice?"

Kami laughed. "Really Marie; it's ok!"

Marie sat by Kami's side quietly for a few moments but after a bit of time, giggled.

"What is it?" Kami asked, curious as to why her friend was so suddenly amused.

Marie looked at her with a sweet smile. "Watching you drink made me think of Stein. Did you know he drinks out of beakers?" Marie giggled.

Kami sweatdropped. "Seriously? That guy sure is strange…"

"Yes, but he's not so bad once you start chatting with him." Marie countered, waving a finger.

"What do you mean by chatting? Every time you approach him he doesn't say much of anything." Kami said with confusion.

"He'll come around eventually; I'm sure of it…" Marie said closing her eyes.

Kami smiled a bit. She could tell that her friend had taken a liking to Stein even though they hadn't known each other that long. Kami couldn't understand it…that guy seemed like a project. What made EVEN LESS sense was that he was Spirit's meister. I mean, how the hell could they be compatible with one another in ANY way? Spirit was chatty and Stein was silent. Spirit was flirtatious and Stein didn't show interest in ANYONE. Spirit social and had a zest for life…and was also always finding a way to stir up trouble, whether he meant to or not…and of course Stein was the opposite of all that. Who knows; maybe opposites balance each other out. Still though…Kami figured that there was a point where people could be TOO opposite…right? Who knows…she would have to learn more before she could judge.

"You seem to like him quite a bit." Kami said somewhat mischievously. Kami was smart and not a trouble maker but she enjoyed teasing her friends sometimes.

Marie's cheeks flushed a bit. "W-well…he's interesting!" Marie explained quickly.

Kami laughed. Suuuure that's why she hung out with him….gag…Marie had a crush already. Kami couldn't understand that either. How could Marie become so easily infatuated? And with someone like Stein no less. Kami made yet another assumption…she supposed that some people were just more romantically minded than others, and from what she knew about Marie so far, that seemed to be the case. The hammer weapon was always paging through romance novels when she had the time, watching romance movies, or swooning over other couples….especially married ones.

"Yeah I guess interesting is one way to put it." Kami said.

Interesting; more like disturbed…who the heck dissects living things for fun?

KNOCK KNOCK…

"Come in!" Kami called. Her face twisted into one of complete and utter confusion when she saw who stepped in.

"Oh, Stein hello!" Marie greeted warmly.

Stein said nothing and simply walked up to Kami's side and held out a plastic bag with some pill inside.

….?

"Here. It's medicine." Stein stated.

Kami looked at him with apprehension and raised a brow. "What kind of medicine?" She didn't trust this Franken Stein. He was a scientist and she was sure he would be delighted to use her as his newest guinea pig.

"For pain. I'm sure it will work better than any medicine they will give you. I made it myself." Stein explained.

"Am I an experiment?" she asked with some anger in his voice.

"Kami…don't get so angry at him." Marie said softly.

Stein smirked, making Kami glare suspiciously. "You are an experiment in a sense I suppose. I'd like to see how much this medication aids you." Stein said.

Kami blinked a few times in shock and Marie smiled. "Take it." He said pressing it into her arms. "Tell me later how it worked for you." He said before walking out the door.

Silence….

_I can't believe it…wow…maybe Marie was right; maybe this Stein guy has a good side to him. Agh…I can't believe what a jerk I was. I completely judged Stein to be a loon and treated him like he was a freak right away…_

"So Kami." Marie began with a thoughtful smile, jerking Kami from her thoughts. "I think now you see what I mean…"

Kami smiled at Marie and nodded. "Ah! Kami, I'm going to be late for class! I'm sorry but I have to go for now. Will you be alright here alone?"

"Oh come on. I'll be fine, Marie." Kami said rolling her eyes.

Marie giggled "You're tough; I know!" and with that Marie took off.

Kami laughed lightly to herself. _She's probably going to get lost on the way to class because I'm not there to help her…_

KNOCK KNOCK

Someone else? But classes were in session; maybe a nurse?

Ugh…damn…she growled at the sight of who walked in. She rolled her eyes.

"Hey Kami. How are you feeling? I've been worried." Spirit said gently with a smile.

"Yeah sure…I'll bet you say that to every other girl who ends up in the infirmary." Kami grumbled. She was shocked when his face looked slightly hurt…but soon his smile returned.

"I guess I can't make you believe anything, but I really do care about you Kami. Now, to the point." He said striding up to her side.

She scooted away from him, slightly uncomfortable with him entering her personal bubble.

"Hey, don't get so high strung." He said casually. "You can relax around me."

"Yeah right; you might try to molest me for all I know." Kami retorted. She was not going to be that easily convinced, knowing his nature when around women.

He frowned again…this frown…she didn't like it. She might not have been his biggest fan but for some reason his saddened expression was making her stomach twist into knots…and making her heart strings pull tight? What the heck?

"I promise I won't" he said kindly. "I just brought something for you is all."

She raised a brow and but also relaxed a bit. Removing his hand from behind his back, he offered her a small, thin, rectangular, spring green paper wrapped package. It had a lovely blue ribbon going across it.

"What is this?" she asked curiously.

"Well you're just going to have to open it aren't you?" Spirit said, winking.

Kami glanced down at the small gift and unwrapped it gently…she couldn't believe it…

"A really nice chocolate bar…you remembered that was my favorite candy." She said in slight disbelief.

Spirit smiled. "Of course I did. Why would I ask if I didn't plan to remember it?"

She looked at him with her emerald eyes and for the first time since she had met him, she smiled… "Thank you." She said simply.

"Hey it's no problem. I thought it might make you feel a little better. So, did it help?" Spirit asked.

_He's always so lighthearted…and he's kind…maybe I misjudged you too Spirit…_

Kami felt a knot in her stomach when she remembered Stein…she had judged him too. She had diagnosed Stein to be a weirdo who was cruel, with no interest in others, and now she had judged Spirit to be flighty, insincere, and selfish.

"Yeah, I feel a little better." Kami said casually, now feeling a slight more comfortable around him.

"That's great." Spirit beamed.

Wait a minute! "Hey, aren't you missing class?" Kami asked. She was the type to care VERY MUCH about her education, and so she had a difficult time swallowing the idea that someone would knowingly skip out.

"Yep!" he said simply, giving her a thumbs up.

"Are you serious? Why are you here then?" Kami asked, completely baffled. Sure he was a little ignorant but she didn't think he'd just chuck his education out the window. Ugh, maybe he was just here to piss away class time so he didn't have to work.

"Because you're more important to me than class." Spirit said seriously.

Serious? She had no idea he could be this way…

"Come on Kami, I can miss one class can't I? And I would still come here even if it meant missing a whole month of school! Because….I like you…" he said softening near the end of his sentence.

Kami's eyes widened…was he serious? She looked into his teal-aqua eyes…those eyes were actually quite lovely…he meant it; she could tell.

"Thank you…I think I might have misjudged you." She said.

Spirit chuckled. "Well sort of. I am a flirt but that's only because I'm so incredibly good looking!" Kami growled. "But…you were wrong about me in some sense…I'm not just around to make trouble. I have feelings you know…"

Kami relaxed once again. "Well…I guess I'm just going to have to get to know you better then huh?" she said smiling a bit.

Spirit returned her smile. Kami hated to admit it but…he looked _really _cute…but that was it! He was cute but that was it!

That aside though…she found a part of her, a small as it might be, looking forward to getting to know this Spirit Albarn better. And little did she know that Spirit was thrilled. One thing was certain; things were going to be VERY interesting.


	3. Kami's Realization

"Spirit…" Kami said just above a whisper, her voice cracking. "H-how did this happen to you? Why?"

Of course she was asking these questions to nobody. She wasn't asking Spirit really. How could he answer if he was unconscious? Yes…Spirit had been hurt terribly. He hadn't been ready for the mission he and Stein took on. Now, if he were a death scythe he could have stood against the weapon easily, but right now his blade wasn't strong enough.

"Look at you Spirit…when you came back you were all covered in blood…" she said.

Why? Why was she caring so much? Sure she had known Spirit for about a year now but still, she thought that she half-way hated him. But the situation she was in now would say otherwise. She never imagined herself making such a fuss over an injured Spirit Albarn; in fact with all the stupid flirting he did, she figured she would actually think he deserved it.

"So why am I so miserable?" she asked herself.

"Kami…you ok?" a tender voice said suddenly. Kami jumped a bit and looked behind her.

"Marie…" she said sadly.

Marie smiled. "Don't worry. It'll all work out. He'll get better and then everything will be fine." Marie comforted.

That Marie…she was always so positive. She never gave up.

Kami was about to answer, when another person cut in.

"How's he doing now?" asked Stein.

Kami was instantly filled with rage. She was a nice girl but she could get PISSED sometimes, and when she did it was best to run the opposite way.

"You! It's your damn fault! You took on a mission that was too difficult! You didn't look out for you weapon! What kind of meister are you?" Kami shouted, her fists balling up at her sides.

"Kami!" Marie said, trying to intervene.

Stein's hair hid his eyes, and he said nothing.

"Look at you now! You won't even talk to me! I bet you don't even care because you're so insensitive! It's true isn't it Stein? All you care about it yourself!" Kami shouted before panting heavily.

Stein finally looked up with his dull green eyes.

"You're angry that I won't respond to you? That doesn't seem to make sense. From what I can see, all you want to do is rant and take your anger out on me. You can believe what you want about the situation at hand, because nothing I can say will change your mind." Stein said flatly. Kami's eyes widened.

With that said, Stein turned around and walked out the door.

"Stein, wait!" Marie called after him. Then she turned to Kami, hurt clearly displayed on her face; Kami felt a surge of guilt shoot through her.

"Why would you say that to him…?" Marie whispered before running out the door to catch up with Stein.

Great…now she was crying, Spirit was terribly injured, she had insulted Stein when he did nothing wrong, and her best friend was miserable.

"Could I screw this one up a little more?" Kami said sadly to herself.

She looked at Spirit, the color from his face washed out and as pale as Stein's…

"Spirit…" she whispered again. Though she hated to admit it, she had come to love that name…

She reached out and cleared a few of his crimson bangs from his face. Such soft, smooth hair…she loved it. Loved? Geez…what was happening to her?

Beyond that, never before had she wanted so terribly to look into those aqua-teal eyes once more.

She looked down at his shoulder. The deep gash that went from his shoulder to the space over his heart was now stitched up. Such lovely skin…she couldn't help it…despite her mind telling her otherwise, her heart was louder and she reached out to run her hand over the reddened stitches.

"You're going to be alright aren't you?" she choked.

This was crazy; ugh she hated feeling so weak like this; so helpless. She couldn't help it though…Spirit…she longed to see that goofy smile of his appear before her once again. She wanted to hear his fun, light, and youthful voice again. She wanted to talk with him again! Listen to him again! This was horrible…he needed to wake up!

"Spirit…" she whispered once again. For some reason that name was bringing her comfort; making her feel like he was still there engaging in conversation. Her heart was taking over; her logic was fading as she leaned in toward his face. "Wake up…" she said, her lips getting closer and closer to his face. "Please…." She finished, placing a kiss on his….cheek?

She sighed with closed eyes; wow that wasn't her normal nature….but still, this hurt so much.

"You missed, Kami. A little more to the left." A familiar voice said.

Her eyes shot open at the sound of his voice. "You…WERE YOU AWAK THIS WHOLE TIME?" she asked, her anger rising by the second.

"Long enough to feel you kiss me." He said playfully.

Oh this bastard. Injured? Yeah right! He was joking as if everything were perfectly fine!

"Spiriiiiiit…." She growled. "I'm out of here. Looks like you can take care of yourself. You're just fine you moron."

As she stood up though, she froze when she felt a hand catch her wrist.

"No, please don't!" he said as loudly as he could in his current condition.

Bad idea. Being so loud had pulled his chest and thus put a strain on his wound, making him cry out in pain.

"Spirit! Hold still!" she said, as instincts took over and her hands moved to his shoulders to hold him steady.

His screams stopped and his body relaxed. "Are you ok?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah…I'm fine…haha that hurt like hell though." He answered, smiling at her.

How? How could he still manage to smile? And he was smiling for her just after she had basically blown him off.

"Can you stay though, Kami? I really want you to…" he said. He was sincere. He meant it.

Sighing, she allowed herself a smile. "Alright, but don't try anything weird on me ok?"

Spirit winked at her. "You have my word." He said somewhat proudly, but still in a lighthearted manner. Kami laughed. She couldn't help it…even though he was stupid, he always made her laugh.

There was a silence; something unusual for hanging out with Spirit.

"Kami…?" he said finally.

"Um, yeah?"

"Why did you kiss me?" he said looking at her straight in the eyes; he was serious right now.

Kami made a sound of shock. What was she supposed to say?

She shot out the first answer that came to mind; it was a logical one that made perfect sense to her; a good answer for the question. "Because I care about you of course."

"Stein is your friend too. Would you kiss him? You care about him." Spirit said, countering her.

Shit. When did he get smart enough to do this? This was the serious Spirit; yes he existed. Spirit could actually make a whole lot of sense and be quite sensible when he slowed down.

"I…well…" Kami began.

Hell no! She would never kiss Stein! EW! Ugh she didn't hate him but…eeeeew….he was just no. Not her kind of man at all. Wait…what? Was that to say then that SPIRIT was her kind of man? No…that couldn't be it. It was just because she wasn't 100% repulsed by him.

But she wasn't 100% repulsed by Stein either so what was the difference between the two…?

"Are you going to answer me Kami?" Spirit said, trying to move her along.

"Spirit…why does it matter?" she said, trying to end the discussion.

"Why wouldn't it? Don't you think I have the right to know? I think if I kissed you, you'd want to know why." Spirit answered, his eyes narrowing. He was becoming impatient.

"I…look, I don't know." She answered, becoming frustrated. Shit…she couldn't actually be…

Spirit placed his hands against the mattress and began to force himself upward. He clenched his eyes shut and grit his teeth.

"Spirit, lay down! You'll open your wounds…" she said worriedly. She tried to press him back down but he stopped her.

"Kami….do you like me?" he asked, still wincing slightly from the pain but also giving her his full attention.

….what was she supposed to do now?

"Well…yes, of course I do." She said, feeding him yet another ambiguous answer.

"In what way?" he asked.

_No! Don't ask me that…_

"I don't know…." She said slowly.

"Think about it."

She began to think….and much to her disbelief and awe…she discovered that she did…she did love him. His hair, eyes, skin, body…she thought he was gorgeous. His laugh, smile, lighthearted personality…and even his goofy flirting…she loved that too. She loved Spirit Albarn. She had loved him for so long and hadn't even realized it.

"And now…?" he said finally, after giving her some time.

"…I love you." She finally managed to say.

She had finally said it…she loved Spirit Ablarn. Now…what would he say in return?

(A/N: Yay! Kami likes Spirit! :D I really had a lot of fun writing this chapter ^_^ and I'm looking forward to writing more! It's just so fun! It would be nice if I keep getting reviews, as they are a great encouragement to me, but no pressure. But still…even just leaving me a smiley face would make my day.)


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